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36-626: The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy . Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's career at which most drivers in the series are aiming at professional careers in racing rather than being amateurs and enthusiasts. Success in F3 can lead directly to more senior formulae such as GP2, A1 Grand Prix, or even

72-685: A Formula One test or race seat. Most notably in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Italian F3 championship produced drivers who graduated to Formula One to varying success. As of 2010, the last Italian Formula Three driver to graduate to Formula One was 1994 Italian F3 champion Giancarlo Fisichella , who debuted with Minardi 's F1 team in 1996 . Other champions include successful World Sportscar driver Max Angelelli (1992 series champion) and Riccardo Patrese . In December 2012, CSAI (the Italian motorsports commission) announced it would cancel

108-719: A cheap point of entry for lesser funded teams and drivers. Formula Three cars are monocoque chassis , using slick racing tyres and wings . Currently, Dallara manufactures the overwhelming majority of F3 cars, though Mygale , Lola (formerly in partnership with Dome of Japan), Arttech , and SLC also have a limited output. In many smaller or amateur F3 racing series older cars are frequently seen. Usually these series are divided into two or more classes, to allow more participation. Engines in FIA Formula 3 are all 3.4- litre , 6-cylinder naturally aspirated spec engines. Engines in others Formula 3 series must be built from

144-505: A production car; single or twin overhead camshafts , limited slip differentials and modifications to the number of main bearings were all forbidden. The brakes and transmission also had to be production-based. Constructors were allowed to increase the number of gears, but only inside a production gearbox casing. In Italy the popular Fiat 1100 engine was the obvious choice and in 1958 there were few other suitable engines in Italy; elsewhere

180-732: A production model block ( stock block ), and often must be sealed by race or series organizers, so no private tuning can be carried out. Honda engines (prepared by Mugen ) have perennially been popular, as have engines produced by Volkswagen , Alfa Romeo , or Renault . Currently the HWA-tuned Mercedes and the Volkswagen engines dominate the British and European series, with Mugen, TOM'S – Toyota , Opel , and Fiat being used by some teams. Complete regulations: "fia.com" (PDF) .   (1213  kiB ) Until

216-439: A restricted air intake were introduced. The 1971–73 seasons were contested with these cars, as aerodynamics started to become important. Two-litre engine rules were introduced for 1974, still with restricted air intakes. Today engine regulations remain basically unchanged in F3, a remarkable case of stability in racing regulations. As the likes of Lotus and Brabham faded from F3 to concentrate on Formula One, F3 constructors of

252-403: A statistical point of view, Parker was the most successful F3 driver. Although coming to motor racing late in life (at age 41 in 1949), he won a total of 126 F3 races altogether, and was described by Motor Sport magazine (in his 1998 obituary) as "the most successful Formula 3 driver in history". Although Stirling Moss was already a star by 1953, Parker beat him more than any other driver, and

288-454: A three-year life-cycle, with only minor annual updates. It was agreed however to extend the life-cycle of the current F308 to four years to assist teams; this chassis however, has been replaced in 2012 with the new F312 chassis, intended to be run until 2017. Most F3 championships, most notably the British series, offer a secondary class for cars from the previous life-cycle in order to provide

324-525: Is known for major non-championship races typically including entries from the national series, the best-known of which is the FIA Formula 3 World Cup (previously known as FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup) at Macau . The first Formula Three Grand Prix of Macau was held in 1983 and won by Ayrton Senna . Michael Schumacher , David Coulthard , Ralf Schumacher , and Takuma Sato have also won there. The Formula Three Grand Prix of Macau traditionally marks

360-617: The Gemini (earlier called Moorland) and Lola Mk 2 . Although these early British FJs were front-engined, the F1 car was undergoing a mid-engined revolution and there were also strands of thinking in FJ that stemmed from the 500cc Formula Three where rear-engined cars had been the norm. It was not long before Cooper started to produce a car similar to their contemporary F1/F2 thinking, later F3s and "bobtail" sports car fitted with BMC A-series engines. On

396-574: The Saab Formula Junior , mainly to test new engine designs. In Russia the most used engine came from the Moskvitch . Through the formula's lifetime, though, the number of manufacturers increased. By the end of 1960 there were over 100 manufacturers worldwide, and by the end of 1963 the number had increased to almost 500 – but the vast majority of race wins went to the British constructors of mid-engined cars. Brabham 's first racing car

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432-637: The Second World War ; British motorsport after the war picked up slowly, partly due to petrol rationing which continued for a number of years and home-built 500 cc cars engines were intended to be accessible to the "impecunious enthusiast". The second post-war motor race in Britain was organised by the VSCC in July 1947 at RAF Gransden Lodge, 500cc cars being the only post-war class to run that day. Three of

468-653: The 1000 cc Mini engine as well as the DKW and the Saab three-cylinder two-stroke engines were obvious choices, as was the new oversquare Ford engine from the 105E Anglia . The first Italian FJ cars were very much in the front-engined tradition of contemporary Grand Prix cars; the first international Formula Junior championship in 1959 was won by the Swiss driver and engineer Michael May in an Automobili Stanguellini . The British constructors were initially not particularly interested;

504-545: The 1960s, classes based on the same original idea as FJ evolved as low-cost introductions to single-seater motor racing, notably Formula Ford and Formula Vee . Because many cars and engines are still readily available, Formula Junior is now a popular category in historic racing . Drivers with a background in Formula Junior include: Jim Clark , Peter Arundell , Lorenzo Bandini , Giacomo Russo , Fritz d'Orey , Trevor Taylor , John Surtees (whose association with

540-433: The 1970s included Alpine , Lola , March, Modus , GRD , Ralt , and Ensign . By the start of the 1980s however, Formula Three had evolved well beyond its humble beginnings to something closely resembling the modern formula. It was seen as the main training ground for future Formula One drivers, many of them bypassing Formula Two to go straight into Grand Prix racing. The chassis became increasingly sophisticated, mirroring

576-658: The 500cc Formula Three was still just about viable, and small-capacity sports car racing had become the accepted route into racing. As the formula gathered momentum, though, constructors started to take note. In the UK, Frank Nichols of Elva produced the Elva 100 series powered by a BMC A-Series ( Sprite or Mini) engine or a DKW two-stroke engine tuned by Gerhard Mitter in Germany. The Elva became first mass-produced British Formula Junior car. Other early British designs included

612-500: The British Formula 3 championship. Perhaps the most curious of all was the small All-Japan Formula Three Championship . Although few drivers spent a significant amount of time there, future stars such as Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve scored victories there. An Asian series was established in 2001 and grew to produce past A1 drivers for Indonesia and Australia. In addition to the many national series, Formula Three

648-577: The Formula 3 championship to focus on Formula Abarth . Formula Three Formula Three (adopted by the FIA in 1950) evolved from postwar auto racing , with lightweight tube-frame chassis powered by 500 cc motorcycle engines (notably Nortons and JAP speedway). The 500 cc formula originally evolved in 1946 from low-cost "special" racing organised by enthusiasts in Bristol , England, just before

684-482: The class required the cars to be powered by production-based engines with a maximum volume of 1,000 cc (61 cu in) with a 360 kg (792 lb) car or 1,100 cc (67 cu in) with a 400 kg (880 lb) car – in practice the latter was used in almost all successful FJs (the USA adopted other cc/weight ratios but they were rarely used). Parts like engine block, head and cylinders had to come from

720-418: The early 1960s, after Formula One was reduced to a 1.5l engine capacity and Formula Two disappeared, Formula Junior suffered from playing two roles, both an introduction to single-seater racing for novices, and the only international single seater category below F1. The latter role meant that costs were pushed up too high for many amateurs (competing against works or near-works Coopers and Lotuses meant that there

756-683: The end of the Formula Three season, with drivers from almost every national series participating. Other major races include the Pau Grand Prix (from 1999 to 2006), the Masters of Formula 3 (traditionally held at Zandvoort ), and the Korea Super Prix at Changwon . These events give fans in locations not visited by other major series a way to experience major international racing. The Monaco F3 Grand Prix held until 1997

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792-638: The engine side, Keith Duckworth of Cosworth Engineering took an interest in Formula Junior and managed to get hold of two of the new engines to be used in the 1959 Ford Anglia. Lotus also came into the game with their Lotus 18 , a simplified derivative of their Formula One and Formula Two chassis fitted with a 997 cc (60.8 cu in) Ford Anglia engine. Later Lotus also raced in Formula Junior with Lotus 20 , Lotus 22 and Lotus 27 . These two marques (Cooper and Lotus), with close links to their Grand Prix teams, soon came to dominate Formula Junior on an international level. In Sweden, Saab produced

828-601: The income this generated enabled the company to develop into the senior categories. Other notable marques included Kieft , JBS and Emeryson in England, and Effyh, Monopoletta and Scampolo in Europe. John Cooper, along with most other 500 builders, decided to place the engine in the middle of the car, driving the rear wheels. This was mostly due to the practical limitations imposed by chain drive but it gave these cars exceptionally good handling characteristics which eventually led to

864-573: The launch of the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019, there has never been a World Championship for Formula Three. In the 1970s and into the 1980s the European Formula Three Championship and British Formula 3 Championship (once one series had emerged from the competing British series in the 1970s) were the most prominent, with a number of future Formula One champions coming from them. France, Germany, and Italy also had important Formula Three series, but interest in these

900-453: The mid-1980s and the national series became correspondingly more important. For 2003, French and German F3 , both suffering from a lack of competitive entrants, merged to recreate the Formula 3 Euro Series . Brazil's SudAm Formula Three Championship , which now has the most powerful engine of all Formula Three series, was known for producing excellent drivers who polished their skills in

936-458: The mid-1980s replacing traditional aluminium or steel monocoque structures. Dallara however, after an unsuccessful Formula One project, focussed their attention on the formula in the early nineties and obliterated all the other marques with their F393. Within a couple of years, the chassis was considered a prerequisite to competitiveness, and today Dallara chassis are ubiquitous to the formula. In order to keep costs down, their chassis have had

972-418: The mid-engined revolution in single-seater racing. The 500cc formula was the usual route into motor racing through the early and mid-1950s (and stars like Stirling Moss continued to enter selected F3 events even during their GP careers). Other notable 500 cc Formula 3 drivers include Stuart Lewis-Evans , Ivor Bueb , Jim Russell , Peter Collins , Don Parker , Ken Tyrrell , and Bernie Ecclestone . From

1008-502: The more senior formulae – ground effects were briefly used in the early 1980s but were banned, in line with other FIA single-seater formulae; carbon fibre chassis started to be introduced from the mid-1980s. Historically, March (up to 1981), Ralt (up to the early 1990s) and Reynard (1985–1992) had been the main chassis manufacturers in two-litre F3, with Martini fairly strong in France; Reynard pioneered use of carbon fibre in

1044-433: The new class came from Count Giovanni "Johnny" Lurani , who saw the need of a class for single-seater racing cars where younger drivers could take their first steps. It is often speculated that this class was founded as a reaction to Italy's lack of success in the 500 cc Formula Three , and although Italian marques dominated the first year of the formula, they were soon overtaken by British constructors. The rules for

1080-422: The seven entrants were non-starters, and, of the four runners, all but one retired on the first lap, leaving Eric Brandon in his Cooper Prototype (T2) trailing round to a virtual walk-over at an average speed of 55.79 mph (89.79 km/h), though his best lap (which was the fastest recorded for any 500) was 65.38 mph (105.22 km/h). Cooper came to dominate the formula with mass-produced cars, and

1116-489: Was Formula 3 Champion in 1952, again in 1953, and in 1954 he only lost the title by a half-point. He took the title for a third time in 1959. 500cc Formula Three declined at an international level during the late 1950s, although it continued at a national level into the early 60s, being eclipsed by Formula Junior for 1000 or 1100 cc cars (on a sliding scale of weights). A one-litre Formula Three category for four-cylinder carburetted cars, with heavily tuned production engines,

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1152-643: Was also a famous special race. It was restored in 2005 only, as a part of the F3 Euro Series. Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open-wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI ( International Sporting Commission , the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class where drivers could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles . The idea to form

1188-432: Was little chance of success in major races), and it was decided that two new formulae were needed to replace FJ; one-litre Formula Two and Formula Three were reintroduced for 1964, with F2 allowing pure-bred race engines and aimed very much at professional and serious up-and-coming drivers, and F3 essentially being a slightly tamer version of FJ for amateurs and those at an earlier stage in their career. Slightly later in

1224-402: Was originally subsidiary to national formulae – Formula Renault in France and Formula Super Vee in Germany. These nations eventually drifted towards Formula Three. The Italian series tended to attract older drivers who moved straight across from karting whereas in other nations drivers typically graduated to F3 after a couple of years in minor categories. The European series died out in

1260-739: Was reintroduced in 1964 based on the Formula Junior rules and ran to 1970. These engines (a short-stroke unit based on the Ford Anglia with a special 2- valve Cosworth or Holbay OHV down-draught head , initially pioneered by Brian Hart, being by far the most efficient and popular) tended to rev very highly and were popularly known as "screamers"; F3 races tended to involve large packs of slipstreaming cars. The "screamer" years were dominated by Brabham , Lotus and Tecno , with March beginning in 1970. Early one-litre F3 chassis tended to descend from Formula Junior designs but quickly evolved. For 1971 new regulations allowing 1600 cc engines with

1296-507: Was the mid-engined BT1 (originally called the MRD, but renamed when it was realised that the initials had unfortunate connotations in French) in 1961. By 1963 the class had become expensive, the scope for wins in homebuilt or amateur cars was diminishing and the cost of tuning a 1000 cc engine to get up to 120 hp was getting too high. The 1963 series was the last series in the UK and Europe. In

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